The Legion Within
by Uldran
Summary: After the destruction of the Legion, the world of Remnant was left to try to recover from the toll of it's war. Archie Ruvle, a legionnaire that deserted, is applying to Beacon in order to Atone for his crimes. His story will reveal the history behind the war and perhaps spark up another war destroying all of Remnant.
1. Chapter 1

_**Legio nos unum sumus**_: We are Legion, We are one. The motto for the legion has been around for many years. Ever since its founding by Caesar Algost himself, it has been the guidelines for how a legionnaire should behave on and off the battlefield. I joined the Legion at the age of eight when they decided to attack my home city. My family and everyone around me were set as examples, but when they came to me… All though I was just a child that didn't excuse me from the horrors I was about to experience. After seeing the death of my mother right in my eyes something inside of me broke. Everything else right after was a red blur.

Next thing I knew I was resting in a bed with a centurion watching over me. I was tied down to the bed, but for some reason I didn't want to be aggressive. If I did that I wouldn't be here today. So after getting up I looked at the centurion straight in the eye.

"Why spare me?" I asked

He looked towards me and smiled at me. It was a weird moment. I mean after all he was part of the group that ransacked my home town. I was gripping my hand really tight. I was hoping that this wasn't some terrible nightmare and that this didn't happen, but then a cool breeze flew through the air. I knew this feeling only once. It was as if everything was going to be right.

"I killed the man I attacked didn't I?" I inquired

"It was a good kill for you." The centurion says "Legate Wilheim wants words with you."

"Do I have a choice?" I asked.

* * *

The centurion untied my bandages from my bed and I got up. I still feel sore, but I was able to move. Pretty sure I never felt so bad after the beating I got. We exited the tent and I saw several large men fighting each other. Training their skills and honing their technique in combat. As I walked through the camp I notice that some of the Legionnaire's were dressed differently. For example the centurion escorting me was heavily dressed in adornments, but the ones I see are barely touched by combat. However though I couldn't count every member in the camp I was in.

"How long was I asleep?" I asked

"Three days." The centurion replied

Three days… Three days since they attacked my home. Three days since they slaughtered everyone and kept me as a prisoner. I want run as fast as possible away from here, but I could barely even walk without stumbling. How could I possibly escape a hundred legionnaires that have guns and elite training? I finally stumble on a large tent with the symbol of a lion on it. The centurion looked at me and motioned me to move forward.

"Legate Wilheim is inside. Be cautious of what you say." The centurion asks.

"Thank you." I tell him.

I go inside the tent and the first thing I notice is the throne of which a giant man is sitting in. This man looks like he has seen battle every day. His scars on his face and arms just prove that he could easily kill me just by hitting me once. My stomach started feeling queasy, but that's probably because I couldn't feel anything from my stomach down for the past three days. I walk towards him. I only get a few feet of him before two men blocked me from going further. The large man stared at me for a bit. Our eyes interlocked and I could tell he's done things even the bravest of men couldn't imagine.

"So you're the lad that killed my right hand legionnaire…" Legate Wilheim says

He stepped off his throne and took a closer look at me. He looked at me really cautiously as if inspecting a prize claimed from a contest. After a few minutes the Legate kneeled in front of me and stared at me with his bloodshot eyes. He grinned happily and got up back on his throne.

"I see potential in you." Wilheim says "What is your name child?"

"My name is Archie sir." I tell him

"Archie… Hmm… I like you. I am going to give you two options." Legate Wilheim says. "First option is to pay for your crimes against the Legion. Killing a centurion means death by crucifixion."

"And the second?" I ask

"The second is to serve the legion and rise in our rank. Become a legionnaire and become part of the greatest force the world of Remnant will ever see."

I knew that the joining process was difficult. I heard that people who were captured by the Legion were conscripted into their forces. Needless to say after a week at least 75% of them have died. Very few people are able to excel at the trials. I figured the only way to survive was to join the legion. After all it was my mom who told me that in order to live a person must fight for what they want most. I wanted to live.

"I'll take the second option." I murmur.

"What was that lad?" Wilheim asked "I couldn't hear you."

"I want to join the Legion" I yelled out with all my heart.

He smiled with anticipation. The air was silent. The wind broke the silence and Legate Wilheim laughed. He then jumped off the throne and pat me on the back. With a hearty voice Wilheim says "Welcome to the Legion laddie!" I felt woozy and passed out right in front of him. Ever since that moment I was trained to become a great legionnaire. I was told to never give mercy in the battlefield and never expect it. That was 10 years ago this day.

* * *

This day I'm being interviewed by some people at a place called Beacon. Right now there is a blonde woman in front of me adjusting her glasses and reading a file while her superior, an older gentleman with white hair and glasses, is staring at me.

"So do you have a name?" The gentleman asks.

"Archie Ruvle." I tell him "And you?"

"Ozpin" He replies

He then stares at a piece of paper. I'm not entirely sure of what's on the paper. The paper probably has the results of my field examination testing I did just recently. I'm confident that my results impressed them. After all I had my training to fall back on and to be honest. The blonde woman looks towards me with a curious question.

"Why do you want to be a student?" She asks.

That thought never occurred to me. I lived my whole life as a soldier to a cause that died out a long time ago. That battle was lost and those men died. I should have died also, but by some power I lived. I lived and the men that raised me from the Legion died a pointless death. I wasn't sure how to respond, but I can't forget the why I tried. I couldn't forget why I was a legionnaire in the first place. So I look at her.

"I don't want to be a student." I tell her "Being a student doesn't help me protect the people I call _friend_. What I want to be is a huntsman. I want to protect those that can't protect themselves. I want to find atonement for the actions I have done."

"_Atonement_?" She questions

"That's the reason why I'm here."

The room got silent and sunset turned into night. I believe in what I've said. Atonement for what crimes I may have done to those people. I know that in the afterlife I will be damned, but I want to at least do something good for the people before I die… It's the reason why I can't sleep well.

"Most people can't say that they aced the field testing exam." Ozpin says "But then again you are clearly not 'most people'."

"That's a concern because?" I inquire

"Because most people don't have battle hardened senses like you."

"Battle hardened?" I ask "More like instinct."

"Either way most people don't have your aptitude for combat."

In some sense I agree with his evaluation of my examination. Ever since joining the Legion, they have trained and perfected me so that battle was easy just like breathing. I can tell that talking about combat was getting us nowhere; unfortunately I didn't think that this would be the end of his questions. After a prolonged silence Ozpin decides to break the silence.

"Archie Ruvle; after reviewing your background I approve for your enrollment at my school."

"Is that all?"

"For the time being. Initiation begins at 08:00 tomorrow. _Please_ don't be late." The blonde woman asks.

I shake Ozpin's hand and head towards the door. I wave back at them and head through the door. Something was off with Ozpin; as if he was trying to look inside my mind or if he figured out my history, but I can't linger on that thought. Tomorrow was the start of my new life. It also marked the beginning of a path that I must walk without my brothers to guide me.


	2. Chapter 2: A Rough Introduction

I walk towards the locker room where my equipment was stored in during my initial trip to Beacon. Students weren't allowed to bring their weapons in the ship therefore we gave our weapons to the teachers so that they could store it in specialized lockers. I never felt so vulnerable in a long time. Last time I'd walk around without my weapon I nearly was killed delivering information to a friend of mine in the Legion. Luckily for me he'd managed to get them to not kill me, but now I owe him a favor.

I walk towards the locker that had my name on it. I entered in the five digit code that was attached to my locker to open it. I'm grateful that my weapons were still intact and not tampered with. My shield, _Divinum Protectus,_ has always been the shield that saved me ever since joining. It's been the only gift that the Legate gave to me for killing that man. It was his shield after all. It stood up to be a 5" 6' bulwark after expanding from the arm guard it collapses into. It's also has several spikes on the front of it. It deterred several opponents from trying to launch a punch into the shield.

After examining my shield to make sure that it wasn't damaged I went to grab my spear. It was also collapsible, but it fit much easier than an armguard. It was a small black staff of sorts, but when it expanded it easily expanded to seven feet. The spear tip on top weighed more than the spear itself. I checked the spear and find the words _Infragilis Ira_ indented into the steel base of the spear. It was definitely my spear. Its light weight combined with its reach made it easy to take down any opponent who'd face against me.

"Spear and shield eh?" a friendly feminine voice says.

I turn around to see a beautiful woman with short black hair. She was slightly shorter than me, but she looked as strong as me. Her eyes were as green as grass and wore lightweight combat clothing. She cradled a machine gun that was modeled after a famous model of another gun used in the Legion: The T0MMY. It seems modified that it carried more ammo that it could hold and the barrel was expanded for maximum spread fire. Clearly she had a way with weapons if she could modify something to a weapon of that magnitude.

"So you have a name or are you just going to stare at me awkwardly?" She asks

"Archie Ruvle." I tell her. "And you?"

"Lyte Greenwell. Winner of the Vytal Junior Tournament and several other competitions."

"So what's with the gun?" I inquire.

"This thing. This thing is like my baby. I cradle it like a child every single day."

I smile for a bit. She doesn't appear that bad, but I have a feeling she's going to taunt me all day. She does appear useful in a fight though. I wonder what she thinks of initiation.

"So Archie how'd you get that scar?" She asks

"I'd rather not talk about the scar Lyte." I reply

* * *

I start walking towards the exit where the cliffs are right outside of the area. The walk isn't far and it was fairly short. It would be even shorter, but I had to walk with Lyte all the way here. I'm pretty sure I'd never heard a girl talk so much about the ethics of properly maintaining and cleaning a gun. As soon as we got there I got up on the launch pad and looked towards Ozpin and the blonde woman who was with him during my interview.

"So '_teach_' what are we doing?" Lyte asks as she moves towards the landing pad next to me.

"I am not '_teach_', I am Glynda Goodwitch and you will address me as so." She replied

"So what are we doing?" Lyte asks

"I can answer that." Ozpin replies. "We are here to determine your abilities and combat prowess. We will also determine who will be partnered up during your time on Beacon. With that being said the first person you come into contact with will be your partner."

So first person I come to contact with in the forest. From what I can tell the only person next to me is Lyte Greenwell. To be honest I hope she doesn't become my partner. She seems to be the type that would shoot at everything that moved. Nevertheless, I have a goal I have to complete and having someone to set me back won't be much of a difficulty.

"After you have made contact with your partner you must go towards the center of the forest where you will each grab a relic." Ozpin says. "Any concerns?"

No one said a word. The only thing I could hear was the wind rustling in the forest below. I nodded at Ozpin and I launched off the pad and flew in the air. I flew up in the air and started looking around for a clearing. I start descending down and notice a small clearing. I expanded out my bulwark and broke the first 2 branches in front of me. Then I landed down roughly on the ground. I pull out my spear and do a slow 360 around me. I'm clear so far.

I walked for 15 minutes straight into the forest when I heard something from the bushes. I took a glare at it and it started to vibrate more. I pull out my spear and pointed it towards the bush. A small rabbit came out of the bush. I pulled my spear away from the scared rabbit. The rabbit runs the opposite direction away from me and hear a deep growl right behind me. I smile a bit and slowly turn around. In front of me is an ursa. It is pretty big considering it's at least 8 feet tall and thick as an ox.

Then two more ursai appeared right behind it. They are also the same build as the ursa in front of me, but clearly the one in front of me is the alpha. So I smile and I point my spear towards the alpha.

"Go ahead." I say. "Try and kill me."

The alpha roared and flung a punch right towards me. I blocked the punch with my shield and it cried in pain as the spikes impaled into its arm. Then I thrust my spear into the alpha's leg. It then threw itself at me, but I dashed back real fast and thrust my spear towards the head. The spear went through the head. The alpha was dead. The other's ursai didn't move. I took the spear out from the corpse and prepared myself for combat against the other two. They started backing away slowly.

"_Aliud cecidit in hostem, Alter anima liberator_" I said to them.

* * *

They then turned around and ran away. I stowed away my weapons and started walking for a minute. The emerald forest seems peaceful; too peaceful if anyone asks. Then out of nowhere I hear gunfire and several grimm roaring. I head towards the sound of the gunfire and find Lyte Greenwell shooting everywhere. There is a pack of beowolves surrounding her.

"You want a piece too?" She yelled out

They started to run towards her and she was about to be overwhelmed. I extend out my spear and throw it towards the beowolf that was right behind her. It went through its skull and landed on another one's chest. I ran towards her and bashed the one right in front of her with my shield. I grabbed the spear from the other beowolf's chest and thrust up towards the jugular. The beowolves start to prowl around, but I get in front of her and hold up my shield so that she would have some cover while firing at the other wolves.

"Hell of a way to make an entrance don't you think?" She asks exhaustingly

I didn't care for her reaction. For the time being I was concerned about the grimm in front of us. Then the wolves dashed all around. Lyte transformed her weapon into a two handed mace. We were back to back and facing off against five beowolves. The first came straight towards me and I thrust towards its skull. I then turned right to block the attack from another beowolf about to hit Lyte. Lyte then swung her mace to the right and hit two beowolves. The other remaining beowolves, after seeing the fate of their comrades, ran into the forest depths.

Lyte falls to the ground in exhaustion. I guess I over-estimated my partner's abilities. This might be more difficult than I first though. I pull out a flask which has some water in it and give it to her. I'd never seen a girl so exhausted in my life. All she had to do was stand behind me and shoot. She drinks it all and gives me the flask. Well guess there goes my water supply. Luckily there is a river not far from here. It's clean enough to drink.

"Thanks… For the water." Lyte says.

"Don't mention it." I reply. "There's a river not far from here. We should make way towards it and fill up there."

I start walking towards the river, but then Lyte gets up slowly and says "Give me a break will ya?"

I sigh in disappointment and wait for her to catch her breath. There should be no way that a person like her be out of breath in the matter of a single fight. Even if it was as hectic as it was. So I walk towards her and put her on my back. She blushes a bit in curiosity.

"Didn't know you'd like me this much." She says

"A wave of grimm will be here in about 5 minutes. I'd rather not face off a wave by myself." I reply

"Always the buzzkill." She dissapointingly says.

* * *

So I carry her all the way to the river where I filled up my flask while she started to drink from the river. She's starting to feel better after the battle. I'm still curious on how she'd got accepted in the first place. I mean even if she's a tournament winner, a person of that quality shouldn't be exhausted that fast. I sat right next to her and drank a bit from the flask.

"So who taught you those fancy moves?" She asks

"A childhood friend taught me." I reply. "And you?"

"My dad." She says. "Know where we are going?"

"Yeah one mile down the river bank and half a mile to the left." I tell her.

"And you know this because?"

"Experience."

She remained silent for a bit wondering if I'd figure out the location. To be honest I caught a glimpse of it while flying and noticed a river that was right next to it. So I'm making a best guess on it. Then I heard a really loud explosion coming from that general direction.

"Experience and it's where all the fighting starts." I said

So we head off through the river bank and towards the sounds of battle happening. I just hope this rough introduction doesn't end badly.


	3. Chapter 3: Old Scars

As I hear the sounds of explosions go off in the distance, Lyte and I decide to go and look for the source. As soon as we get through a thick clearing, we saw a large man wielding two axes charging towards a wounded deathstalker. After slamming his axes into the deathstalker, he jumped off and a barrage of explosions came right on top of the deathstalker. I think that was a bit of overkill, but better safe than sorry. The man than formed his axes into a shotgun and holstered it on his back. Out of the distance a woman's voice yells out "Nice job Bartholowmew!"

"It's Buster…. Buster!" the large man yells out.

We start walking towards Buster and out of the corner of my right eye a woman starts walking towards us. I grip my spear a little tighter and kept an eye on her, but she's just walking carefree. Her stance and the way she walks show that she knows a bit about battle. I wish I'd seen her first. After getting into talking distance the air grew silent as we all awkwardly stared down at each other.

I look towards the woman first. She had long maroon hair that ended towards her lower back. She wears a sleeveless tank-top with a tattoo of a dragon breathing fire down her left arm. She has black eyes and smiles awfully a lot. Going down she has the same logo as her tattoo on her jeans and wears sandals. She's about 5" 6' just a bit taller than Lyte, but she's more built than her that's for sure. She has a small compact flamethrower that she carries around with her. It looks similar to a light machine gun, but the more noticeable features is the dragon that is drawn on it and the different barrel.

"Carmine Veili's the name, and this is my partner/little brother Bartholomew Martin" She says

"It's Buster, Sis…" Buster replies in anger.

"_Bartholomew?!"_ Lyte says. Lyte then starts laughing really loud.

"Ugh… Sorry about Lyte is… different. Archie Ruvle." I said

I went towards her hand and we shake hands and I take a closer look towards Buster. Buster could go toe to toe with most men I know and win easily. He is 6"7' and is built like a monster. His coat is really thick and has a logo of two axes crossing it. He doesn't wear a shirt underneath the jacket. He wears torn blue jeans that expose his kneecaps. He also wore really old boots that looked like they needed replacing. He has that massive shotgun he wields on his back, but I've also seen them transform into axes.

"So heading off towards the relic?" Carmine asks

"Yeah. It's a five minute walk from here." I reply towards her.

"Well let's get going then." Carmine says

Lyte slowly gets up and stops laughing. She then walk towards Buster and compares her size to his. I think Lyte could be tossed by Buster really easily. I should probably try to shut Lyte up. I'd rather not have her killed by Buster.

"Okay let's go… _Bartholomew!_" Lyte happily taunts.

* * *

She then laughs out loud and starts walking with the group. The path was generally clear and there was no resistance. In fact for the most part we took our time going there. Then we came across the relic chamber. There are 16 pedestals with only two of the pedestals have chess pieces on them though. It's clear we are last. The two chest pieces are white bishops. Lyte then run towards a pedestal and grabs the piece.

"What is this stupid thing anyway?" Lyte asks

"It's a chess piece. More specifically the bishop." Carmine says

"Well the bishop looks terrible." Lyte comments

"We should get out of here soon." I hastily say.

"Nah bring'em on. I can handle anything." Buster says.

Then a really loud growl sounds off in the distance. Then the ground starts to vibrate with each footstep that goes off. Something big was coming our way and I really don't want to risk our lives for glory. Carmine looks towards the sound and after three footsteps she steps out in front and motions us to follow.

"Archie is right. We have to leave." Carmine says. "About 4 waves of grimm are heading towards us. I think I pissed off them by burning a friend of theirs."

The roars got louder and the vibrations became larger. I'm pretty sure whatever friend she burned is probably sending everything it has against us. We all decide to flee towards the way we came. We all never ran so fast. Lyte barely kept up with us while I was ahead of everyone. We got to the river bank and the vibrations seemed to have stopped. I remember the base camp where we finish was two miles away from here. I look at everyone in the camp. Lyte is out of breath, but everyone else seems fine.

"There's a base camp two miles up north." I say out loud.

"Well I bet there is a whole parade of people waiting for us." Lyte sarcastically comments.

"It's also getting dark." Buster commented. "We should move out before it's nighttime."

"Sure, but just give me a few minutes okay." Lyte says breathing hard.

"What's wrong Lyte?" I ask her

"I'm not… exactly built… for long runs while grimm… are chasing us." She quirks

"Come on lil'Lyte. We're so close now. Just imagine getting to eat something when we're out of here." Carmine says.

"Oh man… I could go for a really juicy burger right now." Lyte replies.

She slowly stands up on her feet and we decide to walk towards the base camp. We traveled one mile, but the sun is about to go down. I'm starting to get tired. I forgot to fill up my flask of water the last time we were at the river. It's a ¼ full of water. Then I notice Carmine starting to slow down. I stop in my tracks and give Carmine my flask.

"There isn't much, but make it last." I say to Carmine.

She drinks up the rest of the water and wipes off the sweat from her forehead. Then she hands back my flask and I put it away.

"Thanks Archie." She says.

* * *

We walk the last mile to the base camp on top of the cliffs. I see the rest of the students there all exhausted just like the rest of us. Lyte falls down to the ground and starts sleeping. I smile a bit at Lyte. She just went through a hell of a journey. I grab Lyte and put her on my back.

"Come on Lyte. Let's get you to a bed." I tell her.

"… But I don't want vanilla ice cream dad…" She murmurs out loud.

She's definitely unconscious. So I found an unoccupied tent and put her on a cot. I step out and gather by the fire. Near the fire, Buster and Carmine had decided to sit together. I go and join them along the fire. I sit down and try to drink from my flask, but then I realized that it was out of water.

"Thanks for helping me out back there Archie." Carmine says.

"Don't mention it." I say towards her.

"So how'd you get the scar?" Buster says as he points towards my left eye.

"I don't want to talk about it." I reply in sadness.

I gaze towards the fire and stare into it. I make out some memories of when I was a kid of me training with other legionnaires. I remember me getting beat senseless every day until I was able to withstand the legionnaire's attacks. Each bloodied wound made me stronger they said. Each broken bone made me quicker and each defeat made me smarter. This scar on my eye though… It's my ultimate reminder. I shouldn't linger too much longer on this though. I tend to lose myself in thought. It's bad while there might be an attack.

"So Carmine why do you call Buster your little brother?" I ask

"Our families lived right next to each other in a small village of the capital city. When the Legion threatened to destroy our small town, our families decided it would be best to stick together and defend it." Carmine says.

"That's when the damn Legion attacked our home village. The only people who survived were Me, Carmine and Riko." Buster adds in.

He starts tearing up. After a few tears he wipes his eyes and clenches his fist hard. His look turned into sheer hatred. Riko must have been important for him.

"Riko saved us… He was my older brother. He'd always taunt me for having such a complicated first name. He's the one who called me Buster before I did." Buster says.

I look at him and his mood completely changed. Now he's calm. Seems he's able to maintain his composure while under emotional duress. I applaud him for that. I don't mind him having hatred against the Legion. I shouldn't say anything about my past though. It might provoke him to kill me.

"So now that we told you something how about something in return." Carmine says.

She then points towards my scar. I have to admit I fell for it, but I'll have to skip out on a lot of details. I can probably do it though. Then I see Lyte come rushing down from her tent and put her arms around my chest. Then she points towards the scar across my left eye.

"I want in. I asked first and he didn't even say anything." Lyte says. She then unwrapped her arms and sat right next to me.

She smiled at me in anticipation. There is one thing though that I like about Lyte. Besides her gun, she can really make me feel guilty. It also doesn't help that Carmine is giving me the same look, but Buster is just giving me the death stare. He's really intimidating to look at. So I let out a deep sigh. Then I stared into the fire. I started seeing how I got this scar. It was a warning.

* * *

"A friend of mine gave it towards me. We were playing around some old ruins and one day we found some old rusty swords. So we started to play with them and sword fight. He took it a little too seriously and cut my eye." I said to everyone.

"His parents found out and treated my eye and made him apologize for the scar. He didn't apologize though. Something changed in him that moment."

Lyte gasped in excitement. "What changed?"

"He wasn't the friend I grew up with anymore." I replied. "Ever since that day he'd always been interested in fighting. His parents didn't do anything to stop them. Sadly enough, they actually encouraged him to continue."

I then got up and decided to head towards the unoccupied tent.

"I'm going to bed." I tell everyone. "Wake me if you need me."

I then got inside the tent and took of my shirt. I got on the cot and stared at the dark green canvas. I lied right in front of them. It wasn't an accident. It was training and he did it because I was weak… I hate the term weak. It is one of the first things I learned in the Legion. If you are weak it meant certain death or worse. I vowed to live and that's what I sought to do. So I lived by killing the weak. That was my ultimate reminder: That the weak will struggle while the strong will triumph in glory.

"Hey are you okay?" Lyte said as she entered the tent.

She got on the other cot and looked at me with a concerned look.

"I know we're partners and all, but I hate seeing you sad." Lyte said. "Trust me I've seen sad growing up. You have sad written all over you."

I look towards Lyte and smile a bit.

"I'm fine. It's just an old scar that was brought up. It will heal." I reply. "We should get some sleep though. Tomorrow we return to Beacon and you get to eat that burger." I say.

"Look at you making a joke. You just might not be terrible after all." She says.

Lyte then falls straight asleep. Just might not be terrible after all; those exact words my friend said to me. One day Ali… one day I'll find you Ali. Then we'll settle things for good. For now though, I got to rest. I got to let old scar's heal after all.


End file.
